Youth Fest 2022

Youth Fest is Youth Central’s month-long celebration highlighting the contributions and achievements of young people. Youth Central’s website, managed by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, is for young people aged 12 to 25. It offers great information about life from every angle, including study and training pathways, youth rights and independent living.  

During September, over 100 Youth Fest events were held state-wide to reconnect young people through face-to-face, digital and hybrid formats. Our Healthy Kids Advisors participated in events in the shires of Buloke and Colac Otway, connecting with young people to celebrate the tasty, fresh benefits of healthy and delicious food. 

Birchip Youth Fest 

Held at Birchip P-12, Suberia Sailor (Healthy Kids Advisor — Buloke) and Rebecca Fry (Healthy Kids Advisor — Greater Bendigo) connected with 40 young people from Buloke Shire to run a hands-on healthy snack session that put fresh herbs and vegetables in the spotlight.

The group, aged between 11 to 18 years old, travelled from five local schools to participate in a fun evening of indoor sports activities run by Mallee Sports Assembly. Afterwards, they enjoyed catering from the local Lions Club and a snack workshop from our Healthy Kids Advisors. 

“Young people were excited to make fresh Vietnamese rice paper rolls,” said Suberia. “Some tried the ingredients straight from the container, saying the veggies gave them heaps of energy.” 

Colac Otway Youth Fest

At the Colac Otway Performing Arts and Cultural Centre, Lauren Hewitt (Healthy Kids Advisor — Central Advisor) engaged with around 50 Year 7 students, alongside a presentation by the Black Dog Institute. The event was a collaborative effort between Colac Otway Council, Head Space and Trinity College.  

This event focused on mental wellbeing and resilience, so Lauren presented to students the link between nutritious, satisfying food and a positive mindset. Afterwards, students enjoyed hands-on food preparation methods, tasted a variety of in-season herbs and learned about vegetable-forward flavours. 

A youth activity sheet was included at both Youth Fest events to gather student experiences on accessing fresh, local produce and their preferences for healthy, seasonal menu items in their schools. The activity sheet resonated with young people who learnt that their opinions and ideas could inspire local decision-makers to make positive changes to the food and drink environments that affect them.

The Advisors will gather results from the activity sheets and reconnect with the participating school students and leadership teams to offer guidance on designing simple steps towards fresh, tasty food and drink options.

About the Healthy Kids Advisors initiative

Our Healthy Kids Advisors are connecting with schools, outside hours school care, sports clubs and community/council facilities to help boost access to healthy food and drink options. All these facilities can receive free one-on-one support from their local Healthy Kids Advisor. 

Our dedicated workforce of Healthy Kids Advisors operate in 13 communities to deliver pleasurable food education and boost participation in the Vic Kids Eat Well movement. Vic Kids Eat Well is a state-wide initiative supported by the Victorian Government and delivered by Cancer Council Victoria’s Achievement Program, in partnership with Nutrition Australia’s Healthy Eating Advisory Service.

Want more information?
To connect with us or find out more, visit our web page and news page, or email hka@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au

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